Windows Server 2022 End of Life (EOL) and End of Support: October 14, 2031
Windows Server 2022 end of life (EOL) and end of support is October 14, 2031. That is the end of extended support on Microsoft's product lifecycle page and the last day Microsoft ships a security update for it. The nearer date has already passed: mainstream support ended on October 13, 2026. Since that Patch Tuesday the release receives security fixes and nothing else. No new features, no non-security fixes, no design changes, for the five years of extended support that follow. The release shipped on August 18, 2021 under Microsoft's Fixed Lifecycle Policy, which covers the Datacenter, Datacenter: Azure Edition, Essentials and Standard editions. "Windows 2022" and "Server 2022" are the usual short names for this release and carry the same dates.
The dates, in one table
| Milestone | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Release | August 18, 2021 | Start of the ten-year fixed lifecycle |
| End of mainstream support | October 13, 2026 | New features and non-security fixes stopped; hotpatching for Datacenter: Azure Edition Core stopped with it |
| End of extended support (end of life) | October 14, 2031 | Last security update |
Two notes from Microsoft's page that are easy to miss. Containers released with Windows Server 2022 follow the same lifecycle dates, so a Server Core or Nano Server 2022 container image has the same mainstream support date as the host (Server Core 2022: October 13, 2026; Nano Server 2022: October 13, 2026). And hotpatching is supported on Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition Core only through the end of mainstream support; since October 13, 2026 those hosts are back on reboot-required monthly updates unless they move to Windows Server 2025, where hotpatching continues.
What "security updates only" changes in practice
For most estates, very little on day one. Extended support is the same monthly cumulative update, minus the features. What does change is the answer Microsoft gives when something is broken but not exploitable: in mainstream support a non-security bug can be fixed; in extended support it will not be. The same applies to requests for design changes, new hardware enablement and new features. Application vendors read the same page, and some of them stop certifying new versions of their products for an operating system once it leaves mainstream support. That vendor matrix, not the Microsoft date, is usually what forces the move.
No Extended Security Updates have been announced
Microsoft's published ESU programs for Windows Server cover 2012, 2012 R2 and 2016. Windows Server 2022 is not among them on the Microsoft pages we read for this guide, and with five years of extended support still ahead there is no reason to expect one soon. Treat October 14, 2031 as the real deadline.
Where to move, and when
Windows Server 2022 upgrades in place to Windows Server 2025. The supported paths and their conditions are in our guide to every Windows Server version.
| Target | Mainstream support ends | Extended support ends | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2025 | November 13, 2029 | November 14, 2034 | Since October 2026, the only Windows Server release still in mainstream support. Hotpatching continues on Datacenter: Azure Edition, and Azure Arc-enabled hotpatching is available for 2025 Standard and Datacenter at no extra cost. |
There is no urgency to move a working 2022 server this year. The sequence for a mixed estate is set by the nearer dates: Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 first, since their final ESU year ended on October 13, 2026, then Windows Server 2016 before January 12, 2027, then 2019 before January 9, 2029. Windows Server 2022 comes after all of those, and it is the right landing spot for none of them: a server leaving 2016 or 2019 should go to 2025, not to a release that has already left mainstream support.
What to do with the time you have
- Build new on 2025, not 2022. Anything deployed on 2022 now starts life in security-only support.
- Move Azure Edition hosts that rely on hotpatching. If reboot-free patching is why a host runs Datacenter: Azure Edition, that benefit ended on October 13, 2026. Windows Server 2025 keeps it.
- Ask your application vendors which Windows Server versions they certify. Their matrices, not Microsoft's date, decide when 2022 has to go.
- Rebase container images. Server Core and Nano Server 2022 images follow the host dates; move the image tags to 2025 in the same project as the hosts.
- Check the rest of the stack in the same pass. The database, the runtime and the agents on the server each have their own dates. Our EOL Checker and API answer those.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Windows Server 2022 end of life?
Windows Server 2022 reaches the end of extended support on October 14, 2031, per Microsoft's product lifecycle page. That is the last day Microsoft ships security updates for it.
What is the Windows Server 2022 EOL date?
The Windows Server 2022 EOL date is October 14, 2031, when extended support ends. Microsoft has not announced Extended Security Updates for Windows Server 2022, so plan on that date as the deadline.
What is the Windows Server 2022 end of support date?
The Windows Server 2022 end of support date is October 14, 2031, the end of extended support on Microsoft's product lifecycle page. The earlier date, October 13, 2026, was the end of mainstream support; since then the release receives security updates only.
Is Windows Server 2022 end of support in 2026?
No. October 13, 2026 was the end of mainstream support, not the end of support. Windows Server 2022 keeps receiving security updates until its end of support (EOL) date, October 14, 2031.
When did Windows Server 2022 mainstream support end?
Mainstream support for Windows Server 2022 ended on October 13, 2026. After that date Microsoft ships security updates only: no new features, no non-security fixes and no design changes, for the five years of extended support that follow.
Is Windows Server 2022 still supported?
Yes. It left mainstream support on October 13, 2026 and is now in extended support, with security updates only, until October 14, 2031.
Is there an ESU for Windows Server 2022?
Microsoft has not announced Extended Security Updates for Windows Server 2022. Its published ESU programs cover Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2 and 2016. Plan on the extended support end date as the real deadline.
What should I upgrade Windows Server 2022 to?
Windows Server 2025, which upgrades in place from 2022. Windows Server 2025 has mainstream support to November 13, 2029 and extended support to November 14, 2034.
Related
- Windows Server 2022 — the live status page with its EOL Risk Score
- October 13, 2026 — the Patch Tuesday that retired three Windows support clocks at once
- Windows Server 2019 End of Life and Windows Server 2016 End of Life — the nearer deadlines
- Windows Server End of Life — every version's dates and the supported in-place upgrade paths
- How we verify our dates — the rules every number on this site is held to